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BOARD OF LICENSED SOCIAL WORKERS

DIVISION 25

CONTINUING EDUCATION REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

877-025-0001

General

A regulated social worker must complete and report continuing education according to the requirements in this division of rules. A certified social work associate is not required to complete or report continuing education.

To meet the requirements
of this division of rules, continuing education must be one of the following:

(1) A conference,
seminar, book, journal article or workshop that:

(a) Addresses
subjects related to the regulated social worker’s work practice;

(b) Is attended
(or read as applicable) by the regulated social worker in person, on-line or through
a web cast; and

(c) Is provided
or approved by a credentialing body recognized and approved by the board. The board
recognizes and approves a credentialing body based on the following practices of
the body:

(A) The body
uses an established process for determining which training to provide or approve.

(B) The body
uses an established process for determining who will present the training.

(C) The body
provides, with respect to the training, written materials that demonstrate the relevance
of the training to the field of clinical social work.

(D) The body
establishes an appropriate number of continuing education credits for the training.

(E) The body
verifies the credentials of the presenters of the training.

(F) The body
uses an established system for the evaluation of presenters.

(G) The body
provides a certificate of completion to those who attend, based on actual attendance.

(2) A conference,
seminar, book, journal article, or workshop that:

(a) Meets
the following requirements:

(A) Is related
to the field of clinical social work or, in the case of a baccalaureate social worker
or master’s social worker, the field of social work;

(B) Addresses
subjects related to the regulated social worker’s work practice;

(C) Is not
provided or approved by a credentialing body recognized and approved by the board;
and

(D) Is attended
(or read as applicable) by the regulated social worker in person, on-line, or through
a web cast.

(b) Is approved
by the Board based on the regulated social worker’s written application that:

(A) Contains
the following information:

(i) Name
or description of the event.

(ii) Date
of the event.

(iii) Brief
description of the training sufficient to show that the training meets the requirements
of section (2)(a) of this rule.

(iv) Name
and credentials of each presenter.

(v) Number
of continuing education units requested.

(vi) Copy
of the certificate of completion.

(B) Is received
by the board not later than the time of the submission of the report required by
OAR 877-025-0021 and not later than 45 days prior to the last day of the birth month
of the regulated social worker.

(c) No more
than 10 hours of continuing education described in OAR 877-025-0006(2) may be credited
in a report.

(3) For Registered
Baccalaureate Social Workers and Licensed Master’s Social Workers, an in-service,
agency-sponsored program that otherwise meets the requirements of subsection (2)
of this rule section. CE credit form such a qualifying in-service can be used for
up to half the applicable CE hours required for renewal. (4) A course related to
social work at an accredited college or university.

(4) A training
video or audio recording approved by a credentialing body recognized and approved
by the board using the standards provided in section (1)(c) of this rule. Successful
completion is demonstrated by award to the regulated social worker by the credentialing
body.

(5) Participation
in a study group, subject to the following limitations:

(a) The group
must contain a minimum of five and a maximum of ten — mental health professionals
who meet for a minimum of an hour on a scheduled basis to discuss topics directly
related to the field of social work.

(b) The focus
of the group’s meeting must be a presentation or discussion of a book or article
published by a professional body.

(c) The topics
of the group’s discussion must be directly related to established mental health
care and relevant to good practice.

(d) A maximum
of two hours may be credited for a single group meeting.

(e) Credit
for participation in a study group must be approved by the board. To apply for approval,
a regulated social worker must submit the names of the group members and discussion
topics to the board.

(f) For purposes
of this section, mental health professionals is defined as those who:

(A) Hold
a current license or certification for mental health service delivery issued by
the State of Oregon; or

(B) Are certified
under the authority of ORS 430.256 and 430.357 as Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselors
to provide alcohol and drug abuse prevention services, intervention services and
treatment; or

(C) Are employed
by or contracting with an entity that is certified or licensed by the State of Oregon
under ORS 430.610 to 430.695 to provide mental health treatment or addiction services,
and authorized to use the designation of ‘Qualified Mental Health Professional
‘ or ‘Qualified Mental Health Associate’ under the rules of the
State of Oregon.

(6) Development
and presentation of a conference, workshop, or seminar that would be countable for
credit under section (1) or (2) of this rule.

(7) A language
course taken and completed with a passing grade at an accredited college, community
college or university for the purpose of improving the regulated social worker’s
capacity to serve clients with increased competency. No more than 25% of the continuing
education credited in a report can originate from language credit as provided for
in this subsection.

(a) A regulated
social worker is required to report continuing education for all periods during
which the person’s registration or license is active except for the period
covered by the initial certificate of registration or license, unless a waiver is
granted under section (2) of this rule. An initial issuance is the first issuance
of the board of a certificate of registration or license to the regulated social
worker.

(b) Following
the first renewal of a certificate of registration or license, except when the regulated
social worker is on inactive status, the regulated social worker must complete continuing
education in each reporting period at the times described in OAR 877-025-0021. The
holder of an inactive certificate of registration or license is not required to
submit the biennial report.

(c) A report
covering a two-year period must include:

(A) For a
registered baccalaureate social worker, a minimum of 20 hours of creditable continuing
education, including a minimum of 6 hours of ethics.

(B) For a
master's social worker, a minimum of 30 hours of creditable continuing education,
including a minimum of 6 hours of ethics.

(C) For a
licensed clinical social worker, a minimum of 40 hours of creditable continuing
education, including a minimum of 6 hours of ethics. A licensed clinical social
worker who reports more than 40 hours for a two-year reporting period or 20 for
a one-year reporting period may carry over the excess hours to the next required
report. No more than 10 hours may be carried over to the next reporting period.

(d) In a
report that covers a shorter period than two years, as may happen in the case of
the first report by a new regulated social worker or following the reactivation
of a registration or license, the number of hours required by sub-section (c) of
this section is pro-rated.

(2) Waiver
of requirement.

(a) Upon
timely written request of a regulated social worker, made as soon as the regulated
social worker is aware of the possible need for a waiver, the board may reduce the
number of hours required by section (1) of this rule in the event the regulated
social worker is unable, due to circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the
[licensee] regulated social worker, to complete the number of hours of continued
education required by this division of rules.

(b) A reduction
authorized by the board would normally reflect the regulated social worker’s
ability to attend training during the time not affected by the adverse circumstances
leading to the request. For instance, a regulated social worker unaffected by the
adverse circumstance during the first year of a two-year reporting period would
be expected to obtain 20 hours of credit.

(c) Examples
of circumstances that may justify a waiver are:

(A) A circumstance
beyond the reasonable control of the regulated social worker makes it impracticable
to attend training for an extended time.

(B) The health
of the regulated social worker or of another person makes it impracticable to attend
training for an extended time.

(1) Regulated social workers must report the completion of continuing education every two years in a manner prescribed by the board. The report must be made at the time the regulated social worker submits an application to renew a certificate or license except that in the case of a licensed clinical social worker.

(a) A licensee whose license number ends with an odd number must submit the report with an application for renewal effective in an odd-numbered year.

(b) A licensee whose license number ends with an even number must submit the report with an application for renewal effective in an even-numbered year.

(2) The report is part of the renewal application and must contain information sufficient to demonstrate that the regulated social worker has met the requirements in this division of rules. A regulated social worker who fails to meet the requirements is subject to a denial of the application for renewal or to sanction by the board unless the failure was due to circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the regulated social worker and the regulated social worker agrees to a plan to compensate for the deficiency.

(3) The Board conducts routine, random audits of compliance with continuing education requirements. A regulated social worker must retain completion certificates, program information, and other documents needed to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this division of rules for a minimum of 24 months after reporting completion of continuing education requirements to the board and must provide them to the Board upon request.

The official copy of an Oregon Administrative Rule is
contained in the Administrative Order filed at the Archives Division,
800 Summer St. NE, Salem, Oregon 97310. Any discrepancies with the
published version are satisfied in favor of the Administrative Order.
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